liver failure ( 2 ). As a fi rst stage in the ALD spectrum, alcoholic steatosis has been extensively studied in humans and animal models to better understand the mechanisms leading to fat accumulation in the alcohol-exposed liver. This research has indicated that alcohol has many effects on hepatic lipid metabolism, including dysregulation of pathways associated with fatty acid (FA) synthesis, uptake, and oxidation, and triglyceride (TG) synthesis and export; however, the mechanisms underpinning these changes and their relative importance are only beginning to be understood ( 3 ).CD36 (also known as fatty acid translocase) is a class B scavenger receptor that is expressed on the cell surface and can recognize multiple ligands, including long-chain fatty acids, oxidized lipids, and lipoproteins ( 4 ). CD36 has multiple cell type-specifi c physiological functions; for example, its expression in microvascular endothelial cells is associated with angiogenesis, and in the apical cells of taste buds, it is associated with the detection of dietary fatty acids ( 4, 5 ). CD36 is also a mediator of free fatty acid (FFA) uptake into tissues, particularly adipose, heart, and skeletal muscle ( 6, 7 ). It is thought that CD36 does not normally play a signifi cant role in hepatic FFA uptake; however, under nonphysiological conditions, CD36 is induced in the liver and may contribute to hepatic steatosis ( 6 ). For example, pharmacologic activation of liver X receptors increases CD36 expression and TG accumulation in the liver ( 8 ), adenoviral-mediated overexpression of hepatic CD36 increases FFA uptake and TG accumulation ( 9 ), and liver tissues obtained from patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease also have significantly elevated CD36 expression ( 10 ).Our group and others have observed increased hepatic CD36 expression in alcohol-fed mice at the gene and protein levels ( 11-13 ). Given the role of CD36 in facilitating FFA uptake into tissues and the observation that it is upregulated in the alcohol-exposed liver, we hypothesized that CD36 is Abstract CD36 is a scavenger receptor with multiple ligands and cellular functions, including facilitating cellular uptake of free fatty acids (FFAs). Chronic alcohol consumption increases hepatic CD36 expression, leading to the hypothesis that this promotes uptake of circulating FFAs, which then serve as a substrate for triglyceride (TG) synthesis and the development of alcoholic steatosis. We investigated this hypothesis in alcohol-fed wild-type and Cd36 -defi cient ( Cd36 ؊ / ؊ ) mice using low-fat/high-carbohydrate Lieber-DeCarli liquid diets, positing that Cd36 ؊ / ؊ mice would be resistant to alcoholic steatosis. Our data show that the livers of Cd36 ؊ / ؊ mice are resistant to the lipogenic effect of consuming highcarbohydrate liquid diets. These mice also do not further develop alcoholic steatosis when chronically fed alcohol. Surprisingly, we did not detect an effect of alcohol or CD36 deficiency on hepatic FFA uptake; however, the lower baseline levels of hepatic TG in ...